In one of our recent blogs for this year, we discussed real-world examples of states implementing AI into their government services. Many states are moving forward with introducing these new technologies in a variety of ways. This is in an effort to better the lives of their citizens and help increase the productivity and efficiency of public service workers.
One of the states that we highlighted was New Jersey; at the end of last year, NJ introduced new AI translation services in their unemployment offices. These services are meant to help all individuals seek unemployment assistance easily, regardless of what language they speak. About 36% of NJ residents speak Spanish at home, which shows the need for innovative approaches to translation.
Furthermore, New Jersey provided their AI translation tools to other state governments. This could have a positive impact on government services in the U.S. overall with this first step towards collaborative innovation with AI.
NJ’s AI translation services shared with other states
In an effort to introduce a more human-centered design into NJ’s unemployment system, officials implemented artificial intelligence. With many citizens that speak a variety of different languages in NJ and the rest of the country, it seemed time to advance these government services with the end user in mind. With the efforts of the state’s AI task force and chief AI strategist combined with outside support from Google and nonprofit U.S. Digital Response, new AI translation assistants were created.
NJ is one of the first states to introduce AI translation to unemployment services. The training materials for these new AI assistants were then made available for use by other states so that they could develop their own.
How these tools will transform government services
NJ’s AI translation materials were given to other states in the form of step-by-step instructions which governments can use to leverage AI in their own services. It also included a translation evaluator to measure output quality, custom prompts, and several example workflows and use cases. This will make these services much more efficient and accessible for all residents regardless of what language they speak and are most comfortable with using.
According to New Jersey officials, the AI assistant can translate text three times faster than a human, and with a 90% accuracy rating. This can help save costs and to lessen the workload of human translators. These innovative approaches to government services have the potential to keep evolving into different ways to improve the lives of U.S. citizens. This does not have to only be for unemployment services, but for other aspects of the public sector as well.
Marcie Chin, product delivery manager for U.S. Digital Response, stated: “It’s a prime example of how we can democratize generative AI for the public good by inviting people with lived experience navigating public benefits to participate in the design process."
This is an important take when implementing AI and other new technologies. Remembering that these innovations are for the public good ensures that they are used not just effectively but responsibly. AI has huge potential to continue to make our everyday lives more efficient and productive overall.
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